A comparatively small coin hopper device is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application 10-254512 by this applicant.
FIG. 9 is an outlined perspective view of the coin hopper device with an escalator disclosed in Japanese Patent Application 10-254512. This hopper device H stores a lot of coins (not shown in the figure) in hopper tank T, of a funnel shape and discharges the coins above one by one. Electric motor device E with gear train is installed under base board B diagonally arranged. Disk D at the bottom in hopper tank T is rotated with the electric motor device E. A penetration hole (not shown) of this disk D is rotated, the coin is pushed out along base board B and is then discharged out from hopper tank T. The coin pushed out from hopper device H is transported above with an escalator device. The escalator device has a passage P for coins providing communications to the base plate B. Frame F is provided for reinforcing the long escalator.
This hopper device H, electric motor device E with the gear train was set up under base board B, and hopper tank T was set up on base board B. Therefore, hopper device H had a problem which enlarged in the vertical direction as shown in FIG. 4. To miniaturize the hopper device, for instance, the base board B is made horizontal, and the electric motor device E and the gear train are sideways arranged under the base board B. However, there was a limit in the miniaturization of coin hopper device with the above-mentioned arrangement.
When vending machines are used and the amount of money deposited in the machine is more than the price of commodity, the difference is automatically disbursed as change (exchange money). In addition, when the coin inserted into vending machine is a pseudo coin such as foreign country coin and so on, this coin is automatically returned or canceled. The coin inserted into the vending machine is recycled for exchange money by the coin processor built therein. Coins for exchange money are prepared beforehand in the vending machine and when the exchange coins are insufficient, the coin inserted is reused for exchange money.
A coin processor for a vending machine is discussed in Japanese Patent Application 8-214917 or Patent Disclosure 9-265561 by this applicant. As for this coin processor, a plurality of hopper devices to store a lot of coins of same money kind in lose state are vertically piled up. And, on the top part of hopper devices vertically piled up, a coin selector is provided. As for the coin inserted into the vending machine, the money kind is distinguished with the selector, and then existing the passage, the coin is stored in the hopper device of same money kind. When the exchange coin is necessary, each hopper device is operated by an electric signal and the desired exchange coin is disbursed automatically.
In the coin processor for above-mentioned prior vending machine, there was a problem that a pseudo-coin which is similar to the actual coin is not rejected with the selector and is stored in the hopper device. That is, there was a problem that another true coin was disbursed from the hopper device, when a pseudo-coin was stored in the hopper device and the return button was pushed. The coin processor for prior vending machine exchanged a pseudo-coin for a true coin. On the other hand, there was another problem that a true coin was rejected when the accuracy of coin selector was raised.